


These Tears Fall (For You)

by Why_do_you_want_to_know



Series: Summer's Banned Together Bingo [24]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awesome Charlie Bradbury, Banned Together Bingo, Based on a Tumblr Post, Castiel Loves Plants (Supernatural), Castiel likes bees, Charlie Bradbury & Dean Winchester Friendship, Dead Castiel (Supernatural), Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Dean Winchester Misses Castiel, Dean makes a friend, Dean steals flowers from Charlie and Gilda, Dean would do anything for Castiel, Emotionally Hurt Dean Winchester, Fairy Gilda, Flower Thief Dean, Gilda loves Charlie, Hopeful Ending, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt/little bit of comfort, M/M, Married Castiel/Dean Winchester, Retired Hunter Dean Winchester, Sad, Sad Dean Winchester, That one about stealing flowers, Thief Dean Winchester, but it's not awful either, not much of a happy ending, visiting graves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27783472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Why_do_you_want_to_know/pseuds/Why_do_you_want_to_know
Summary: Written for the Banned Together Bingo 2020, for the square "A Real Downer".*~*Dean jumped over the white picket fence, just as he had a billion other times, tucking himself behind a bush so that no one could see him while he surveyed the garden. He was here for one simple task, collect some truly breath-taking flowers that Castiel would be glad to receive, and although Dean felt awful for stealing from whoever owned this house, who clearly just wanted to own a pretty garden, Dean didn't have enough money to buy some flowers from the store, and this garden was the only one in town with flowers worth giving to Cas.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Charlie Bradbury/Gilda
Series: Summer's Banned Together Bingo [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768180
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33
Collections: Banned Together Bingo 2020





	These Tears Fall (For You)

**Author's Note:**

> Well getting this one done was a journey and a half. I had an entire fic written and edited and ready to go, and then the Supernatural finale had to go and do *that* and suddenly I hated what I had written (Dean died on a hunt, Sam died in a human non-supernatural way. Eileen wasn't mentioned. There were too many parallels to the ending so I just went nope, not posting that) So here I am. A week later, with an entire new fic which is slightly less depressing, and most importantly, I actually like this one.  
> Hope you enjoy!!!

Dean jumped over the white picket fence, just as he had a billion other times, tucking himself behind a bush so that no one could see him while he surveyed the garden. He was here for one simple task, collect some truly breath-taking flowers that Castiel would be glad to receive, and although Dean felt awful for stealing from whoever owned this house, who clearly just wanted to own a pretty garden, Dean didn't have enough money to buy some flowers from the store, and this garden was the only one in town with flowers worth giving to Cas.

There were some new additions since he'd last snuck in. Some purple ones which he didn't know the names of, and some blue ones which he had never seen in his life, but were the exact colour of Cas' eyes to an almost freaky degree.

He planned his bouquet, figured which flowers would go with what, found a way to incorporate the time of the year into it too. If this was going to teach him anything, it was apparently going to be breaking into gardens, and flower arranging. Definitely not two occupations he ever thought would work well together. He figured out which way he would go to collect them all, making sure to figure out the quickest route to minimise his chances of being caught.

And then he was off.

He kept low, scooping up his first couple of flowers easily, making sure not to damage them or their roots even as he made sure to be careful not to be in easy eyeline of someone looking out the window. It was difficult, but he would do something a million times more difficult than this for Castiel.

He was almost done, just the flowers the colour of Cas' eyes, and some nice red flowers left, when the front door to the house swung open. Dean didn't even look at it, rising from his flower picking crouch and starting to sprint to the nearest fence. He felt a pang of loss over not getting all the flowers he'd chosen, and the fact he would definitely have to choose a new garden to steal from after this, but he didn't have a choice. He couldn't be caught, and he didn't have time to explain anything.

Unfortunately, Dean wasn't given a choice.

"Stop right there!" a female voice yelled from just where Dean knew the front door was situated, her words heavy with a power Dean could only feel instinctively, stopping him in his tracks without any conscious thought of his own.

There is another voice, soft enough that Dean can't hear a word they are saying or tell who is saying it, though if he were to guess without looking he could say it was another woman. Even without being able to hear it properly Dean could tell there was a fondness in the tone, and if Dean wasn't in the middle of being caught stealing flowers, he would be interested in what the story behind this house was. Clearly the amazing garden wasn't just care and hard work, there was a power here too.

The women by the door weren't moving, nor were they talking to Dean, and all he could hope was that this could be his chance to get away. He would have to avoid this house forever, probably throw the clothes away too, but at least he wouldn't have to find out what someone with that much power did to someone trespassing and stealing.

And okay, maybe they would be a lovely person who wouldn't hurt a fly. But when had Dean even been that lucky?

"Alright, come over here," the woman said again, and Dean could feel her magic pulling him towards the front door. There went his chance to escape undetected, maybe he could break free now?

Nope.

He didn't know who was the spell caster, had never met them before in his life, but clearly they were strong. Strong enough to have Dean walking towards them without a single shake in his step despite how hard he was trying to get free.

He stopped a meter away from the front door, his feet feeling like they were glued to the ground. He didn't think he was about to get murdered, they would have probably forced him inside to do that, but he also doubted that he was going to be let go with a pat on the back either. He was close enough to get a good look at the owners of the house for the first time ever, not that he'd really been looking before, and could instantly tell which one the spellcaster had been. She was radiating magical power while her friend - her girlfriend? - seemed to be completely human, though Dean knew she could be any host of creatures which you just couldn't sense. He might not hunt anymore, but he hadn't forgotten anything either.

"Why are you stealing flowers from our garden?" the human asked. There was no power in her voice, just annoyance, but even that was enough to make Dean consider telling the truth.

"I can't afford to buy good flowers from the shops, you have the prettiest garden around," he said, figuring that half the truth would work. It was what he was doing, even if it wasn't the full motivation.

"And you couldn't have asked? You had to steal them?"

Dean kept quiet. He'd known it was wrong, but he'd been doing things which he knew were wrong his whole life, and even if he'd given most of them up, he would do whatever it took to give Castiel what he deserved. And after everything Cas had done, he really did deserve flowers this pretty.

"Alright then, I take it you're not going to answer," she sighed. "Alright, come on in. We have a lot to talk about." She walked in, turning left, and leaving Dean and the spellcaster on the doorstep together. He wasn't being forced to go in, which definitely implied he still wasn't going to get murdered, but that didn't stop him from glancing nervously at the woman with powers, not entirely sure if he trusted her.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she sighed, as though she could read his mind, "Charlie would kill me if I even thought about using my powers to hurt someone."

"Is Charlie your friend?" Dean asked. From what he'd seen, he was fairly sure Charlie was much more than that, but some people took it personally if he implied they were gay, and it really wasn't worth the risk.

"My girlfriend," she replied, sounding both annoyed and tired at the same time. Dean wanted to punch himself. The one time he remembered to not assume gay, they actually were gay and got offended by it.

"Sorry, yeah. You're cute together," Dean muttered, walking through the door and going in the direction he'd seen Charlie head off in. "I'm Dean by the way."

"Gilda. And I'm a fairy in case you are wondering."

Dean let a whoosh of air escape his lungs. He'd never met a fairy before, but he knew of their powers, and he knew that most of the time they didn't leave their own realm.

They walked the rest of the short distance in silence, stopping in what looked like some kind of garden room where Charlie was pouring out coffees and had a plate of cookies on the coffee table. It was homely, and Dean actually felt like a guest rather than the thief being brought in for questioning that he was. Flowers weren't the biggest deal to steal, they would grow back, but if Gilda was a fairy and she counted this house and grounds as hers…

Well if Dean had known he wouldn't have come within ten metres of this house.

Threatening a fairy wasn't worth it… damnit. He wished he could believe that, but he just couldn't. The flowers were for Cas, and everything would be worth it to make Cas happy. He was way too far gone, so deep into these feelings that it scared him.

"How long have you been stealing from us?" Charlie asked, handing a mug of coffee to Dean.

He took a quick drink, stalling for a little bit before he answered. "A while," he shrugged, trying to remember how long it had been. He only took flowers when he needed to, only once a month at most, though he had been doing it pretty much since he'd moved here. "Shouldn't you know?" he asked Gilda, "or didn't you notice when your flowers started vanishing?"

"Oh no," Gilda shook her head, "I know exactly how long it's been. We just want to know if you know."

"No, I don't know," Dean could feel tears stinging the back of his eyes and desperately tried to blink them away. He would not let these people see his weakness. He wouldn't. "I've not exactly been keeping track." Of anything, though he wouldn't let them know about that.

"Why have you been taking them?"

Dean pressed his lips together. It was for Cas, had always been for Cas. But could he tell them that? Would they understand?

"Why?"

Dean didn't respond again. What would they do if they realised that all this time he'd been stealing from them to give the flowers to his angel, the one who had given everything for him, and the prettiest flowers Dean could find wouldn't even begin to pay back his debt.

"For goodness sake," Gilda sighed, turning the power on in her voice when she asked "why were you stealing our flowers?" so that Dean had no choice but to answer.

"To give to Cas."

"Cas?" Charlie repeated, "is that your girlfriend? Boyfriend?"

"He's my-" Dean paused, they'd never been formally married, but boyfriend wasn't the right word either. Husband was the closest fit, even if it wasn't exactly right. "My husband." He saw Charlie's eyes flickering to his ring finger, probably noticing how it was empty, but she didn't mention it.

"Does he know where you're getting the flowers from?"

Dean chuckled humourlessly, "no, I very much doubt he does."

"Is he worth it? All the stealing?"

Dean could feel his eyes getting far off as he thought about Castiel. He knew Cas was worth it, always had known, and yet there was something about being asked that here, right now, with a fairy glaring at him for stealing. It reminded him just how worth it Cas was. It reminded him why he loved Cas, reminded him of everything. It reminded him that even if he had never legally exchanged vows with Castiel, he would hold himself to those unspoken bows every day. He might not have a ring, but he has his love.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I know it's your garden and everything, but he really is worth it."

"You really love him don't you," there was something soft in Gilda's voice, her eyes flickering between Dean and Charlie. Clearly she was thinking about her own love for Charlie.

"Yeah, I really do."

"Okay then, we will make you a deal," Gilda decided, "we will let you take all the flowers you want, whenever you want them," Dean could feel excitement bubbling up in his chest. Beautiful flowers for Cas without him having to steal them? Sign him right up! "But first you'll need to introduce us to this Cas, so that we can be sure he's worth it." And there it was. There was the catch.

"Ummm," Dean started, not actually sure where he was planning on going next.

"Come on, you were clearly about to go and see him if you were stealing our flowers!" Charlie said with a grin, "you didn't want to keep him waiting do you?"

Dean opened his mouth to explain everything, but the words wouldn't come. They were right there on the tip of his tongue, the explanation for why that wouldn't work out, but they wouldn't escape.

"Come on, we won't take no for an answer! Just lead the way!"

Dean knew it was a bad idea, but he wordlessly stood up and walked back outside, stopping momentarily to pick the flowers that were the blue of Cas' eyes as he passed. Neither woman stopped him, both of them too busy excitedly whispering between them about who this Cas could be.

It was a short walk between Charlie and Gilda's house and their destination, it was one of the reasons Dean had kept coming back. He could pick the flowers on his way to see Cas and they would still be beautiful when he arrived. This time however, the walk felt like it took forever, and yet simultaneously was over in the blink of an eye.

The wooden cross stood unassumingly on the top of a steep hill, in the shade of a large tree with a wild bee hive high up in its branches which had been at least half of Dean's reasons for putting the cross there. It was surrounded by flowers, all of them ones that Dean had planted after taking them from Gilda and Charlie's garden.

Dean didn't look behind him as he stopped in front of the cross, dropping down onto his knees and starting to dig in the damp earth. "Hey Cas, sorry I'm late," he whispered, tears starting to pool in his eyes. Castiel's body wasn't actually there, there hadn't been one to bury, but he still felt like something was listening when he talked, and he liked the thought of Cas watching over him from his place on the hill, with his bees and his flowers. "I got caught, you always said I would at one point. You'd probably laugh at me for this one. A fairy caught me stealing her flowers. I know right, all the things to be caught doing!"

There were quiet footsteps behind him, and Dean looked around to see Charlie standing just behind him, while Gilda went around all the flowers, using her magic to revitalise them all.

"Is that your husband?" Charlie asked, even though it was clear it was.

"Yeah," Dean said, "Castiel Winchester, the love of my life." Rain started falling just then, starting slow and then speeding up until it was soaking them all, and all Dean could think was that it felt right. 

"Do you have any family nearby?" Dean could hear the concern, and he couldn't blame her. He'd already admitted he couldn't afford flowers, and here he was with a dead husband. Of course she would want to know if he had anyone keeping an eye on him.

"No, just Cas," Dean sighed, "my brother and his girlfriend live a couple of hours away. They call, sometimes." He didn't mention why it was only sometimes. Didn't mention how they'd use to call daily, until the dark cloud that had hung over Dean ever since Cas died had started infecting their lives, until the calls had slowly stopped, until it was only once every couple of months or so.

Charlie dropped down onto the mud next to him, pulling him into a tight hug as she stared at the wooden cross. "Don't worry Cas, we'll keep an eye on him for you."

The tears in Dean's eyes slipped down his cheeks, irritating his skin even as the rain washed them away nearly as soon as they had fallen.

He wished Cas was there. He would have wiped Dean's tears away and kissed the sobs off his lips, then done whatever he could to make it better, but then again, Dean wouldn't be crying if Cas was there.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!! Kudos and comments mean the world to me!!!  
> Hope you have an awesome week!!!!  
> ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤


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